How to Improve Your Memory

You cannot remember what you never absorbed in the first place.

Your memory
can and will improve significantly if you make a concerted effort to develop it --
just as your body improves when you purposely exercise it and flex those
muscles. Memory strength increases with practices just as
your body strength improves with exercise and a good diet. Not only can you
improve your memory but you can improve your ability to retrieve the
information stored in your memory center.

The first
step in improving your memory is paying attention to what is said in the first
place. You cannot remember something if you never heard the words. Many of us are guilty of this.What you did not learn because you were not paying attention cannot be
encoded into your brain.

It takes your
brain approximately eight seconds to sort out information. This occurs in the
part of your brain called the hippocampus. The information is then sent to your
memory center.

Keeping your mind engaged in challenging
intellectual activities helps retain and improve memory. Games of
strategy that entail remembering moves and rules, like chess played with computer software or with an opponent, or cards and crossword puzzles, keep our minds nimble and our memories in shape.

We have both
short term and long term memory. Short term memory entails storing information
for a few seconds or minutes. For example, the time that it takes you to dial a
phone number that you have just looked up in the phone book is short term memory.

Short term memory
is delicate and is purposely designed as such. If you remembered every phone
number that you had ever dialed your brain would be cluttered up and on
over-ride. Your brain is intended to retain, on average, seven items of this
nature.

Your long
term memory includes the information that you consciously or unconsciously made
an effort to remember, such as the day your first child was born or the night
your mother died. Recalling an episodic memory, which includes memories about an
experience that you have had at certain time, and recalling semantic memories, which are
factual data, such as your wedding date, require a conscious effort on your
part.

Another kind of long-term memory is
called procedural memory, which means that you can perform a certain task, such
as tying your shoes or typing your name, without conscious recall.

Before you
can improve your memory you must determine what kind of learner you are. If you
are a visual learner this means that you learn by seeing. If you are an
auditory learner, this means you learn by listening. Start involving your
senses in the memory process.

Relate textures, smells and colors to what you are
trying to remember. Rewriting information helps imprint the memory on your
brain. Connect the new data to information that you already know, building on
prior knowledge. Use pictures and words to improve your memory.

If you are
attempting to remember a complex process, break it down into simpler terms so
that you can explain it in your words.

Employ the
practice of spaced rehearsal learning, rather than cramming at the last minute.
Go over what you have learned that day several times. If you actually over-learn information,
recalling it later on will be easy for you.

Use a system
called mnemonics, which are clues, to help you remember. Associate the
information that you are trying to remember with a word, sentence or a visual
image.

For instance, you can remember the name Holly by connecting the name
with Christmas berries. Remember the name of Mr. Homestead by associating it with your
house. Use pleasant associations. The more vivid and three-dimensional the
association, the better.

Use
alliteration or rhyming to remember. The humorous girl at the dental office
can be "Funny Fran."

Musicians
have learned notes by memorizing every-good-boy-deserves-friends for E G B D F.
Another example is remembering the treatment for certain injuries known as RICE: Rest, ice,
compression and elevation. The first
letter of each word in these sentences represents a word that you are trying to
remember.

Chunk information together so you can remember it easier. For example, arrange numbers in groups rather than
trying to remember all of them. Your social security number, for example, is in
a group of three numbers, then two numbers, and then four digits. Putting a
list into smaller categories makes it easier to remember.

Many foods and food supplements are credited with improving memory. Nutritional formulas and super food memory programs available from health and vitamin stores may delay the cognitive effects of aging. A diet high in whole grains, vegetables and the Omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood are good for memory and brain function. B vitamins and antioxidants like vitamins C and are also beneficial for memory retention.

Take care of your general health, stay fit, exercise, keep
practicing and working on exercising your memory and you will see improvement,
perhaps not overnight but in time.